Fox Finds Its NYC Mayoral Candidate

Fox News is campaigning for New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as mayor of New York City, praising the potential Republican candidate and urging New Yorkers to “beg” Kelly to run.

Fox's push for Kelly as a mayoral candidate started with a May 20 interview with Kelly on Fox & Friends. During that interview, co-host Brian Kilmeade inquired whether or not Kelly was going to run for mayor, asking the Commissioner when he would make the decision. Kelly replied with laughter. 

Days after the interview, News Corp CEO and Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch praised Kelly on Twitter. In one May 25 tweet, Murdoch claimed that Kelly was the "[o]nly hope of averting disaster for NY":

In another May 25 tweet, Murdoch praised Kelly as modest:

Following these tweets, during the May 29 Fox & Friends Kilmeade once again praised Kelly and claimed that New Yorkers should “come together and beg” Kelly to run. Kilmeade concluded that Kelly “has to run.”

All of this praise comes amid speculation that Kelly is considering a campaign. A May 28 NBC New York affiliate blog post claimed that Kelly had not ruled out running, saying that “when pressed on whether he was ruling [a run for mayor] out, Kelly would only say: 'no plans.'” The blog post also noted that there had been rumors swirling about a Kelly candidacy since the last mayoral race.

Only time will tell if Kelly remains another in a long line of Fox News candidates to flirt with higher office, or one who actually runs.